Holiday Check-in

Yesterday Mr. Tohulka, Mr. Hamilton, and I spent a bit of time at MAST. A huge thank you to both of them for taking their vacation time to come in and do some necessary work. Mr. Hamilton had the steel drum tuner in and he completed about 1/2 of pans. The second week back we have an appointment to complete the rest! Our band should sound better than ever! Speaking of, I will soon try and post the winter concert video of the band playing during the holiday luncheon. They were amazing! Mr. Tohulka came in the check and do some aquarium maintenance. The saddest part is that the GFI circuit tripped sometime last week and the big tank in Ms. Jones-Roberts' room didn't make it. With both of our big tanks down, we need to begin rebuilding. I picked up two aquarium books to help myself learn more, spoke to Mr. Tohulka, and recruited a friend who I'd a big aquarium buff to help with our fresh start. I also began some research for online aquarium monitoring systems thy would allow us to check and receive emergency updates directly from the tank itself. Finally, this is a call for a group of students to join in this starting over. Please see me if younger interested in working together to make out tanks the envy of the county once more!
Finally, I hope you have all been having a great break! Happy New Year and see everyone back at MAST on Monday!


-- Post From My iPhone

All Ahead Full - A MAST Update

What a busy two week period!  MAST has definitely been all ahead full since we started almost eight weeks ago.  The first quarter is about to end and we have a lot to look forward to as we sail on!

The boys' and girls' swimming teams did a great job at GMAC's at the end of last week and we are looking forward to moving on to districts next week.  The Makos head off on a long journey to the Keys to compete and see who will turn in performances that earn trips to the next level!  Good luck, Makos!

Tonight is Homecoming at La Gorce Country Club on Miami Beach.  Our theme this year is Haunted Homecoming!  It promises to be evening full of frights and delights!  I hope everyone has bought their ticket and will be there for the fun!

Last week we inducted 41 new members to the MAST chapter of the National Honor Society.  The inductees are an impressive group of students who model scholarship, attention to detail, and commitment to community service.  Congratulations to the inductees and their families.

This week we also had two seconds - the MAST PTSA's 2nd Annual College Night and the MAST Expedition Day.  Both were amazingly successful.  Thank you so much to all the parents who worked tirelessly to make the College Night such a tremendous success.  Fifty-five schools and over 220 students came out to MAST on Monday evening.  The MAST Expedition Day had as variety of activities for each of the classes.  Freshman and sophomores had three guest presenters from the larger MAST community speak to them about goal attainment, dressing for success, and planning for financial success.  The juniors had internship and an Experiment in International Living presentations and mock interviews with community business representatives.

On a final note, MAST is in the running for a $50,000.00 grant from Clorox.  We need your support to win the grant.  Please show your support by going to www.clorox.com, register, and vote daily until November 1st, 2010.

MAST Academy's Bid for Clorox Grant

MAST is presently one of hundreds of schools nationwide who have applied for a $50,000 grant from Clorox to enhance our school’s programs. We are at a stage that requires public voting via the internet to win the grant. Below are instructions on how to cast your vote and support the MAST community in our bid for the grant. Please take a moment of your time and help support MAST. Thank you!

Voting Instructions:

1. Go to http://www.clorox.com/

2. In the middle of the page, click on Cast Your Vote!
3. Click on VOTE NOW!

4. Please enter your email at the top of the page and click log in
5. Complete the registration form.


Once you have completed the registration:

6. Enter MAST and search

7. Vote for MAST Academy!


Finally, please enter three friends’ or family members’ email addresses to generate more support for MAST.

Please remember to that each registered email address can vote once a day until November 1, 2010! Thank you for your help!

The Ship in Port - Summer Update

If there is one thing this summer has not been, it has not been slow and restful.  Right from the first day with the Summer Anchor program we have been off and running.  I am finishing up a week at the Superintendent's Summer institute for Principals this morning.  It has been a good experience and I have enjoyed learning with and from my colleagues.  There are a lot of very good things going on about the district!

It is also hard to believe that the month of July is almost gone.  We are ready to unfurl the sails and prepare the deck for the 2010 - 2011 school voyage.  The are still some questions to be answered and the last parts of the puzzle will begin to fall into place quickly now as we start the ramp up.  It is odd how quiet it is at school but the feeling of awakening is definitely in the air!

The building is looking sharp as Mr. McDonald and the custodial crew have been hard at work preparing for opening.  The classrooms look bright and shiny with fresh wax and everything put through summer cleaning.  We have just one last shipment of computers left to come in for the engineering lab.  We're looking for them sometime next week.

For students and parents, the individual FCAT score reports are in so please be on the lookout for more information as to when and how we will distribute them.  On a whole, MAST did very well and once again the work of our students, teachers, and entire MAST family has shone through.  Thank you all!  School grades will not be published for senior high schools until November as there are now additional grading criteria that the state must collect and analyze.  More to come ...

Finally, my summer reading has been going.  It would be enjoyable to have had more time to read but I have completed Drive by Daniel Pink, Discussion Based Online Teaching by Tisha Bender, and a title on SMART Goals ( good for IPEGS).  I learned from all three and each has lead me to additional learning/reading that I have saved up for future opportunity.  Drive's discussion on motivation is eye-opening and I have since found some of the research by E. Deci to review.  There are some major implications for motivation in schools and learning.  The SMART goals piece will help as we as a faculty plan our upcoming year's IPEGS goals and some of the case studies were interesting.  Finally, the book on online teaching was drab and dated.  Despite this, it did reinforce the idea that there is something in the idea of online learning.  I think that we as the adults have as much to learn as the students.  I see this becoming a powerful venue for learning once we get a better handle on how to best use the tools available.

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and has taken the necessary precautions for the pending tropical storm.  Being as it looks like we will be spending a wet weekend indoors, it sounds like a great time to make sure that your summer reading is up to date and you are on course to finish!

Summer Anchor Sails into Week 2!

This morning we open our second week of the 2010 MAST Summer Anchor. So far our sailing has encountered fair weather and calm seas. Boat building is underway, math is in full operation, and science is analyzing data collected during last week's day at the beach. We have just finished our final plenary session where we discussed Plato and Stephen J. Gould and worked some more on Excel.

Coming up later in the week, we have our famous boat races, the seniors will come in to talk about involvement at MAST, and we will end our summer voyage with cotillion. It is a full week so come prepared and be ready to head out each day under full sail!

Summer Anchor Heads to Sea

Day one of the 2010 MAST Summer Anchor has come and gone.  Congratulations to the Class of 2014 and the other students who have joined us for the adventure.  This year looks to be stronger than ever with an instructional crew that is second to none.  As I spoke to all about yesterday as we got underway, now it is time for each student to begin to explore what their individual passion or passions might be and to begin to plot a course to fulfill those dreams.  This will take more than just a plan.  Once plotted, action on a course must be undertaken!  Action and correction and modification for what doesn't work as a student has planned - persistence!  A journey of a lifetime, such as you have set sail upon with the opening of the Summer Anchor, will not be without its rough seas and stormy weather.  What will you need to do to persist in the face of adversity to ensure that you achieve your goals, to ensure that your passion comes to fruition? The final element is effort.  Education, knowledge, and the subsequent wisdom are results of concerted effort.  They come from the drive to learn.  To learn, make mistakes, reflect upon your last steps, make connections, and grow in the knowledge of how information and experience will combine inside you and manifest itself in new actions that you show to the world as you learn.  Remember, MAST is about learning and over the course of the next four years the voyage will require passion, persistence, and effort!

Reflections on the 2009-2010 Year at Sea

Another year, MAST's 19th, has just come back to port in final celebration of much learning and particularly for the accomplishments of faculty, staff, parents, and the Class of 2010.  Far from being free of the stresses that have been in the news and all over our world, MAST has weathered all that we have encountered.  As a community, we have made progress in many directions and continued a tradition of excellence in the sea of change that churns about us.  The credit for this voyage and those before lies with the passion and persistence of committed individuals that seek the lighthouse of learning through any and all conditions.  To the faculty, staff, parents, and students of MAST, thank you for your drive.

This year MAST will prepare for another voyage without three figures who have been large contributors to our school.  Mrs. Van Smith, Dr. Alvarez-Detrell, and Mr. Cruz, thank you for your years of service.  we will definitely miss you as we prepare and begin future voyages.  Best of luck and know that MAST will always be here as an open port of call if ever you venture near.  To the MAST Crew members who continue to sail on with us, thank you for making learning your top priority and for an unrelenting focus on student performance.  The success of each voyage is firmly in your steady, capable hands.  Our community appreciates you more than we could ever possibly show.

Class of 2010 - thank you for a fantastic four years that include some amazing highs and tremendous accomplishments.  As I spoke about at graduation, these four years have passed very quickly and your presence will be missed as we set sail once again.  Just as your peers in the past, remember your time and honor all that you have received in your time at MAST.

MAST parents - It has been a year for the record books.  Never have I seen such dedication and support from so many parents whose only goal is the growth and betterment of a school community.  Working with all the groups have been a joy and, in looking forward to next year, please know that we are eternally grateful for all that you do and the investment of time and energy that you provide.  MAST could not be all it is without you.

As we prepare to welcome the Class of 2014 and begin our 20th year, MAST holds more potential than ever.  Now is the time to charge our batteries, lay the ground work, and forge ahead with the plans that will make the 2010-2011 school year the best of all!

Have a happy and restful summer in port!